2008 - The team behind IGF Student Showcase finalist Narbacular Drop is hired by Valve. The game is reworked into Portal and goes on to win the coveted Game Developer's Choice "Best Game" award for 2008, as well as numerous game of the year accolades.

2008 - Design Innovation winner Braid debuts on Xbox Live Arcade to significant success.
2008 - Excellence in Audio winner Audiosurf launches on Valve's Steam distribution service and goes on to become the highest selling game of February, outselling even Valve's own Orange box (including Team Fortress 2 and Game Developer's Choice "Best Game" winner Portal.)

2007 - Design Innovation winner Everyday Shooter is signed by Sony for distribution on the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network, after Sony's John Hight plays the game at the IGF Pavilion during GDC 2007 - Everyday Shooter's Jon Mak also appears at the inaugural Independent Games Summit.

GDC China
has debuted the first group of lectures in the show's Independent Games
Summit, featuring talks from thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen,
Capybara Games on Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, and Supergiant Games on its indie hit Bastion.

The event, which is co-located with the IGF China, will take place November 4-6 at the Shanghai Convention Center in
Shanghai, China, and will once again serve as the premier game
industry event in China, bringing together influential developers from
around the world to share ideas, network, and inspire each other to
further the game industry in this region.

The following are the first lectures to be announced for GDC China's Indie Games Summit:

- While video games are undoubtedly a significant form of
entertainment media, they are often treated more like software or
technology than a valid means of expression.

In "Video Games as a Medium for Entertainment & Artistic Expression," Jenova Chen, co-founder of Flower and Journey
developer thatgamecompany, will look at the medium from an artistic
perspective, demonstrating how games can deliver substantial
experiences, feelings, and messages.

- Occasionally, business and design decisions that look awful on
paper can lead to surprising success. This certainly held true for
Capybara Games' Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
(pictured), an eccentric iOS title that forced the team to take major
risks with its design, business, and production processes.

In "Perhaps a Time of Miracles was at Hand: The Business & Development of #Sworcery,"
Capybara Games co-founder Nathan Vella will provide an in-depth look at
how this unusual game grew into a critical and financial success.

- Finally, Amir Rao of indie startup Supergiant Games will discuss
how his team of EA vets created one of the summer's most popular indie
games in "Maximizing Risk: The Building of Bastion." Here, Rao
will offer a look at Supergiant's "prototyping process, the production
methodology and the conclusions reached from taking the high-risk
endeavor of starting your own studio with your own money," offering tips
for developers who hope to start their own indie studio.

With registration for GDC China now open, interested parties can go to the event's official website to start the registration process
and gain access to the numerous talks, tutorials, and events the show
will have to offer. Keep an eye out for even more news as the show draws
closer, as GDC China organizers have a number of exciting announcements
planned for the coming weeks and months.

For more information on GDC China as the event takes shape, please visit the official GDC China website, or subscribe to updates from the new GDC Online-specific news page via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS. GDC China is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb.